Back Exchange of views between the President of GRECO and the Steering Committee on Democracy

Exchange of views between the President of GRECO and the Steering Committee on Democracy

The President of GRECO, Marin Mrčela, took part in an exchange of views with the Steering Committee on Democracy (CDDEM) organised during the second plenary meeting of the Committee (29-30 October 2024).

The CDDEM is entrusted to develop Parameters to facilitate the application and implementation of the Reykjavik Principles for Democracy , and an initial discussion on the Parameters took place on this occasion.  

This exchange of views provided an opportunity to draw the attention of CDDEM members to GRECO's work and the importance of the fight against corruption as a cornerstone of the rule of law and a key component of democracy. His intervention focused on GRECO’s findings which are relevant to the draft Parameters under preparation, and on specific elements that should be considered in the drafting process. President Mrčela underlined that we cannot fight corruption by only fighting corruption, and that the draft Parameters in respect of the fight against corruption should be read in conjunction with a number of other parameters, such as those on political integrity, party funding, lobbying practices, civil participation, the independence of the judiciary, access to information.

Strasbourg 29/10/2024
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Ever since antiquity, corruption has been one of the most widespread and insidious of social evils. When it involves public officials and elected representatives, it is inimical to the administration of public affairs. Since the end of the 19th century, it has also been seen as a major threat in the private sphere, undermining the trust and confidence which are necessary for the maintenance and development of sustainable economic and social relations. It is estimated that hundreds of billions of Euros are paid in bribes every year. (more)

A word from the President of GRECO

Welcome to this window on GRECO’s world!
I invite you to use it to look into the work we do with our 48 member States. We use the dynamics of collective expertise and peer pressure to accomplish action by individual governments that will build durable barriers against corruption and bring to justice those who misuse their position for personal gain to the detriment of society as a whole.

Whether inspired by GRECO’s work, that of others with an anti-corruption agenda or our own experiences and principles, each one of us has a role to play in changing the mind-set to zero tolerance of corruption.

Members of GRECO Bureau

The composition of GRECO's Bureau is the following: António DELICADO (Portugal), Vita HABJAN BARBORIČ (Slovenia), David MEYER (United Kingdom), President Marin MRČELA (Croatia), Vice-President Monika OLSSON (Sweden), Olivier GONIN (Switzerland) and Panagiota VATIKALOU (Greece).

 BEWARE OF SCAMS

It has been brought to our attention that the name of GRECO is being used for fraudulent purposes. These scams may appear to use letterhead with the GRECO logo, or contain the signatures of actual or fictitious senior GRECO officials, aiming to give the appearance of a legitimate GRECO correspondence.  Sometimes they may include legitimate website addresses to give a veneer of credibility to the scam.

Typically, the solicitations asked potential victims to provide personal information such as signatures or bank account information, and to pay certain advance fees, often described as "processing fees." In return, the potential victim was promised sums of money that the person soliciting the "fees" had no intention of paying. In some cases, those seeking the funds used the names of actual GRECO staff members to sign the letters in order to bolster their credibility.

GRECO, the Council of Europe's anti-corruption body, monitors the way in which its member countries implement the Council of Europe conventions and other instruments at national level. GRECO does not contact members of the public directly by email, telephone, Whatsapp or any other means about specific financial transactions or personal information.

We caution the public to be very wary of these and other similar solicitations that falsely claim to be affiliated with the GRECO. If you have received such a communication, we advise you to immediately terminate that contact.  If you have already paid them money, please contact your local law enforcement without delay.